25 years ago, Ray Manzo was awarded the Bronze Star for rescuing and bringing several wounded marines to safety. He later went to Washington to see the Vietnam Wall and discovered that the USA had knowingly left guys behind in Vietnam, and that there were POW (Prisoners Of War) and MIA (Missing In Action) from every war.Ray Manzo heard about a Vietnam Veterans Motorcycle club in Asbury Park, NJ and found a group of veterans flying the American Flag, the Marine Corp Flag and the POW Flag.This got him started and he sent a letter to military organizations, veteran’s organizations, senators, congressmen, newspapers, and magazines with the thought in his mind of organizing Bikers cross the country to march on Washington on Memorial Day in protest to the governments lack of effort to bring home the POW/MIA’s.In 1988, Ray succeeded in getting permission to ride past Arlington Cemetery and to the Wall and about an hour before the first ride, the Pentagon called and said you can use our parking lot but just do us proud.Shortly after, the DC police called and said you can cross the Memorial Bridge to the Wall.Ray Manzo and all the members of Rolling Thunder, pledge that anybody who serves will never be left behind and will never be forgotten.I have been a member of Rolling Thunder, Chapter 3 in NJ, for 2 years and this Memorial Day was my 2nd run;the 1988 had 3 to 5 thousand bikes and this year there were over ½ a million.I also have the honor of being an escort for the Gold Star Wives and the Gold Star Mothers where we have a Mother or Spouse that lost a husband, wife, son or daughter, ride as a passenger from the Pentagon to the Wall on our bikes.I travelled the route this year in the hot sun but there were crowds of people cheering, waving flags and displaying signs all the way.It was great, even better than last year, and you can bet I will do this ride every year for as long as I can.There is only 1 POW/MIA in Afghanistan and his father was a speaker and he was powerful.He said a biker can ride his motorcycle throughout the country side and listen to the engine roar but all in his head.He spoke of a POW that was forbidden by the Vietcong of being so happy riding his bike so guess what, now he disassembles it, cleans the parts and reassembles it all in his head.Another speaker was the Captain of the USS COLE.The COLE was docked in Yemen when a garbage barge came along side and blew a big hole in the side of the ship killing 12 sailors.He recounted that the color guard asked him if he wanted to be present for Taps and the lowering of the flag and he said “The American Flag will fly until all of the sailors are recovered from the debris, put flood lights on it so the people can see it until we leave port”.He also used a marine boat to take the remains to shore with a Marine guard to the airport and onto a military flight to the USA.The flag still soiled from the explosion is on display aboard the COLE and the Captain said when the COLE is retired, I will make sure that flag and its story is on display in the national museum.In 1998, Congress passed a law that the POW/MIA flag will fly below the American Flag at all Federal buildings on holidays.Idaho became the first state to require the POW/MIA flag to be flown 24 hours a day; 7 days a week until all POW/MIA come home.Next time your see this black POW/MIA Flag with the silhouette of a frail man, a guard tower and the words “You are not forgotten”, bow your head and thank God you live in a country with such a remarkable, courageous militaryand the reason why the American flag and the POW/MIA flag is flying.

DYSTOPIA in 1984 or 2016 January 2012

DYSTOPIA is another word that is not used in our day to day conversations, but is the background for 2 books written many years ago, books about the future. The first book, which most of us know is -1984-, written by George Orwell and published in 1949. The second book is ATLAS SHRUGGED, written by Ayn Rand, published in 1957, probably not as well known but part one was released on the big screen on April 15 2011 and part two is scheduled to be released in 2012. Dystopia is kind of an anti-utopia where the society is repressed and controlled by the government. I must clarify that books about the future are works of fiction but sometimes, these books are remarkably accurate. The Dick Tracy radio watch that allowed him to communicate with video and sound was so impossible to imagine in 1931 but the technology is now common and not even questioned. George Orwell painted a future society or police state that was dismissed in the United States as total fiction but at the same time in Eastern Europe, people were oppressed and first hand witnesses recently emigrated from Europe, were telling stories about the oppressive government in Germany in the 1940s. Orwell described tele-screens and microphones at work places, public places and in homes, which were monitored by the government. Correspondence was opened and read by the government. The people were encouraged to report suspicious activities of their friends and neighbors. In 1984, society lives in poverty; hunger, disease and filth are the norms in ruined cities and towns. The standard of living of the populace is low; almost everything, especially consumer goods, is scarce and available goods are of low quality. Of course, these are fiction and haven’t happened yet, but guess what; the current law allows the government to read all of our emails without a warrant or probable cause. Another important concept discussed by Orwell is -Doublethink-. Doublethink allows you to be conscious of truth while telling a lie, believing both. It sounds a lot like the current president and his czars to me. Even to understand the word doublethink involved the use of -doublethink-. We see discussions about high school and college text book editors, where truth is omitted and replaced by questionable information, doublethink means being able to falsify records, and then believe in the new history that they themselves have just rewritten. -Atlas Shrugged- however is more realistic and although it was written in 1957, it is about 2016, which is just around the corner. Who is John Galt? becomes an expression of helplessness and despair. -Atlas Shrugged- is about Dagny Taggart, who runs Taggart Transcontinental, the largest remaining railroad company in America, and despite the systematic disappearance of her best workers, is drawn to industrialist Henry Rearden, one of the few men whose genius and commitment matches her own. Reardon created a new metal, which was used to rebuild the critical Taggart rail line in Colorado and pave the way for oil titan, Ellis Wyatt, and a new American Renaissance. Their discovery of the design of a revolutionary motor, based on static electricity, added proof to the theory that thinkers, industrialists, scientists, artists, and other innovators are -on strike- and vanishing from society. It is 2016 and the United States is in a sustained economic depression and gasoline at $40/gallon has put airlines out of business and made railroads the primary mode of transportation, but even they are in disrepair. Dagny named her new railroad line -The John Galt Line- and in the first run, with the new steel and engine, attained a safe speed of 250 mph. Then, Congress passed a law requiring that trains travel less than 60 mph, this is in addition to new laws restricting a person from owning more than one business and another new law that limits rail freight and levies a special tax on Colorado. When Dagny hears that Wyatt's oil fields are on fire, she rushes to his home but finds a handwritten sign that reads; -I am leaving it as I found it. Take over. It is yours.- The film closes with an answering machine voice-over of Wyatt declaring that he is on strike. -Atlas Shrugged- part 2 is coming and I encourage you to watch -Atlas Shrugged- part 1 now. The irony is that 40,000 new laws go into effect on January 1 2012 and many Federal mandates restricting liberty, with many hidden in other laws. Pay attention, as all through history, the poorer class has revolted but now for the first time, it is the middle class. Galt is a creator and philosopher, who symbolizes the power and glory of the human mind. He is the counterpoint to socialism in a society based on oppressive politicians and a culture that embraces mediocrity and encourages the great minds to strike. He is a fictional character created by Ayn Rand. Pay attention.

WHAT CAN I DO? DECEMBER 2011

I recently wrote an article titled “Why did you let this happen?” and I was asked to write the sequel. I will start with a quote from Albert Einstein and it is not about mathematics or the theory of relativity, but, it maybe even more important and relative to the current conditions in the US. Albert Einstein lived during a very trying time in a very trying world as he was born in Germany in 1879. He was visiting the United States in the 1930s when Hitler came to power in his native Germany and as a result, he never returned to Germany, denounced his citizenship, and became a US citizen in 1940. He advised President Roosevelt of a nuclear threat from Germany and was instrumental in the start of the Manhattan Project, which lead to the development of the Atomic Bomb, and put an end to the Nazi Blitz and World War II. The war ended, but the European leaders now started down the road of people depending on government for everything or forms of government known as communism and socialism. Now in 2011 European countries are collapsing 1 by 1 with the overwhelming financial burden of taking care of all the people all the time. A powerful central government is created by taking away liberties from the people one at a time and at the same time taxing the prosperous to give to the dependent class. Okay, what was Einstein’s quote, “The World is a dangerous place – not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing?” This is truer now than ever as we watch our liberties erode and the national debt over $15,000,000,000,000 with interest payments reaching 1 billion dollars a day. It is not the job of the government to help those in need, it is our job. We, the most productive members of society are busy working and applying our skills and energy earning and providing for ourselves and our families, making sure our children are educated so they can have an even better life than us. After working a twelve hour day, it is hard to come home and educate ourselves to what is going on in our country and our government when all we want to do is relax and wind down, maybe, watch a game or a movie. First of all, many people don’t even know who their local and state representatives are and even if they do, they don’t have the time or even know what to do. Have you ever asked your mayor, your senator or congressman, what his or her position is on the article 10 of the US constitution? Article 10 was added to the constitution to make sure that the Federal government did not exceed its authority that belongs to the state and local government. State and local government collects property taxes to fund its local services including maintenance of local highways, police, fire, and education and to make sure that the services provided are consistent with the will of the people and if not, the people use their vote to effect the outcome. As we look at the federal government and its continuing growth of power and expansion, let us remember that the government itself has no source of income beyond what we the people pay in taxes and in fact we should look beyond the government services other than defense, infrastructure, and interstate commerce, as defined in the constitution. The money the government is spending on regulating light bulbs, green energy, subsidies, and economic stimulus etc. is our money but we look at our local schools and we think of free education, free yellow school buses, free, free, from the government. Now, wait a minute, the only money the government has is our money so rethink free and think my money should not be spent by the government for anything that the government wants to spend it on. One more point which is about taxes and is a little story and the message is the same whether you earn $25,000 per year or $25,000,000. The government begins to provide goods and money to those who cannot provide for themselves, which is good but this requires many government employees and increased expenses to operate and with a large organization there is bound to be misuse which requires more taxes which requires tax collectors and enforcers. This exponential expansion continues until the people revolt. This is just a brief summary so you can relate to the “How did you let this happen”? Now, here is the story in the form of one person but is applicable to all workers. A worker earns $40,000 per year and pays 25% of his salary to the government which is fair and all is well. He has security and does not have to worry about another country invading, he has good roads to drive on, he has 6 months of unemployment compensation if he needs to look for a job, education for his children, air traffic control, etc. As we over reach and the cost of running the government increases, the worker now pays 50% of his salary to the governments, and is unhappy but life is still good and he works hard every day. Government income increases from $10,000 from this one worker to $20,000 and now the government starts new programs providing bailouts, subsidies, medical coverage to all people and again has to raise taxes to 75% and now the government is making $30,000 but when it raises it to 90%, the worker gives up and the government income by raising his taxes is now $0. Raising taxes does not always create the proper results. Once there are less than 50% of workers, they will no longer have the majority of the vote. Let’s pay attention to what is going on as we are approaching a point of no return. Don’t let this happen.

CROSSING YOUR RUBICON NOVEMBER 2011

Rubicon is a word that we may associate with a Jeep model for those of us that relate to cars but I would suspect that most of us have heard this word in a different context but really never thought much about its meaning. A Rubicon may be the first time you rode a bicycle as once you were on 2 wheels, you were committed to riding the bicycle and that all you can do is keep moving and in other words there is no turning back. Another great example is skydiving, once you jump out of that plane, there is no turning back. We all have at least one Rubicon to cross but it is usually not a physical event but a life changing event. Do you have a Rubicon that you have crossed or maybe you should think about what your next life altering event or Rubicon may be? I had several Rubicon events but at the time I didn’t know how important and life altering my commitment would be. My first Rubicon was speaking in front of a group, followed by joining the Marines, followed by marriage, having children, and starting a business and I had to think about it but I have crossed all my Rubicons. The good news is all is well. Okay, enough serious discussion and answer the question, where did this word come from? The Rubicon is a river in north eastern Italy that separates ancient Rome from Gaul. The river was red in color from the red mud and was named from “rebeus”, Latin for red. The Roman provinces were allowed to have an army but if any army crossed into Rome with their army, it was punishable by death. A general from Gaul crossed the Rubicon with his army and that general was Julius Caesar, who became the emperor of the Rome and changed the history of the world in 49BC. There are 2 towns in the US named Rubicon, Rubicon California and Rubicon Wisconsin as well as several books, bands, albums and songs all named Rubicon. Rubicon, the TV series debuted in 2010 on AMC but quickly faded away within 6 months. I hope you enjoyed this article as it contains no news, no sports, and no politics but I can’t end without reminding everyone to vote. We are at a crossroads, maybe a Rubicon for New Jersey and the United States. If anyone read my last article about “Why did you let this happen?” find out who is running for government office and what they stand for. Make sure their values are consistent with yours and do your best to get them elected. Vote, it is your duty. All of my articles are posted under Gary’s Blog at www.woodporthouse.com

WHY DID YOU LET THIS HAPPEN October 2011

A young child asks her Grandfather this question in 1938 in Nazi Germany or a young child asks his Grandmother in 1960 in the Soviet Union. Why did you let this happen? Now I want you to fast forward 20 years and visualize your grand child asking you the same question. The answer to the question is the greatest threat to liberty, “Apathy”. December 23rd 1776, to paraphrase Thomas Paine, Britain, with her army enforces tyranny by taxation and absolute authority in all cases whatsoever and exercised power that can only belong to God. Words written longs ago against over taxation and oppression remain as valid today as they were then. We are facing a government with a different vision of America, which our children and grandchildren will inherit. There is a price to pay for the liberty that we enjoy in America and these liberties that have been eroded through decades of progressive legislation based on redistribution of wealth. The idea of free markets, entrepreneurship and unlimited potential must prevail over government owned businesses, bailouts, subsidies, and central planning. Can you imagine if you pass down to your grandchildren, a generation dependent on the all powerful government for healthcare, livelihood, education, housing, and every need, but surrendering the responsibility for your own life. I cannot fathom telling my grandchildren that I allowed the destruction of the greatest nation on earth. The American dream is what we will not be passing to the next generations. America is a special place based on a constitution guaranteeing inalienable rights given to us by our creator among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. There are hundreds of laws being passed limiting our right to build houses on our own property, limiting our authority to teach our children, taking away our choices for healthcare, and so on. Last week, even after the Solyndra bankruptcy scandal, congress gave over 700 million dollars to one of Nancy Pelosi’s relatives to provide green jobs. If you think that this is just a debate of ideas and America will continue with maybe some slight inconvenience, then you have not been paying attention the last couple of years. Abraham Lincoln started National Prayer Day and the current administration is going to stop it. The Federal debt is out of control with waste and corruption; over 100 million dollars given to people that are dead, millions of dollars spent on ridiculous projects like studying African ants. It is your duty to the next generation to pay attention, take some time, some treasure and listen and analyze the values and beliefs of those running for office, both in NJ and in Washington. It is not about political parties, it is about an out of control government taking away our liberty, little by little. Will you be able to answer the question of “Why did I let this happen” with I paid attention and tried my best or I was too busy to care.

HAVE WE CHANGED OR HAS THE NATION September 2011

Let’s go back to May 25, 1961, President Kennedy announced a very ambitious plan to land a man on the moon and return him to the earth, safely. I was in grammar school, but I remember the Russians shocking the world with Sputnik in 1957, and then Yuri Gagarin becoming the first human in space on April 12th 1961. President Kennedy’s goal was achieved on July 20th 1969, when Apollo 11 commander, Neil Armstrong, stepped off the ladder onto the moon. I was much younger then but I was so very proud of my country and its leadership. The only projects in our history that were this monumental were the Panama Canal and the Manhattan Project (the Atomic Bomb). Just think of a few of the everyday inventions or discoveries created directly as a result of NASA and it is more than TANG (a powdered orange drink), how about: invisible braces, scratch resistant lenses, memory foam, ear thermometers, shoe insoles, communications satellites, smoke detectors, cordless tools, and the water filter. ). As an American and a former Marine, I remember, the screaming voice from the loud speakers. I was on the firing range on November 22, 1963, and the command was to secure all weapons and then the announcement came that the President of the United States had been shot and killed in Dallas, Texas. This was the era of the Cold War and I didn’t pay too much attention to politics and really, the next event that I remember was a quote from the Brandenburg speech in Germany by Ronald Reagan; “ General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” In 1989, the Berlin Wall was dismantled and the great roar of American progress, growth, and optimism was achieved. Then, I call your attention to the War with Mexico in 1846, for this reason only. A war costs money, whether it is for the best in humanitarian reasons, or to defend our country and our people. This war lasted 2 years and at the end, the United States, annexed most of the Southwest from Mexico which includes Texas and California. This is referred to as the spoils of war but it is just that the victor should at least cover his expenses from the spoils. Our legal system espouses this principal as the winners receive rewards and the losers pay. Let’s move forward to 2011, the 2 Presidents that I still respect the most are John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, one Democrat and one Republican. July 21st, 2011, will remain a sad date for me and for America, but a glorious day in the political agenda of President Obama, a Democrat, who has succeeded in closing NASA’s Space Shuttle Program, a 30-year old chapter of American science advancement and progress in world History and at the same time, he has stopped altogether the American era of human space exploration. In addition, we have been the world’s police for too long without the world’s respect. Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, a wealthy oil rich country without poverty, and the United States fights a costly battle, saving Kuwait from a terrible fate under Saddam Hussein. That is the story line but we borrowed money from the Europeans, China, and India to pay for saving Kuwait, so what happened to negotiations and letting Kuwait pay for being saved? This was George Bush, but today we are spending billions saving Libya under NATO, with Obama, a democrat, but it’s our money, and Libya should pay us back with oil. Our infrastructure is falling apart while we rebuild Iraq and drain the US Treasury. The political parties have turned into left and right ideology, and have abandoned common sense in running our country.

DID YOU KNOW August 2011

Our country is in a debt crisis and the President and the Republicans in Congress disagree but maybe you already knew that. There is an extreme hot weather pattern in the North East but it is just part of a pattern otherwise all the records would be broken instead of just one or two but maybe you already know that. The Four Chaplains is an important story in our history that everyone should know but maybe you don’t know that. Do You? I recently attending a meeting of Rolling Thunder, an organization dedicated to locating the remains of POWs (Prisoners of War) and MIAs (Missing in Action) from all the wars, which included a bike run starting in Belvedere NJ and ending at the green in Belvedere. The guest speaker was a retired Detective from the Vice and Narcotics Unit in Newark, one of the most crime ridden cities in America, he saw it all, every moment of every single day. He always caught the bad guys, regardless of who they were, they could never outsmart Dave Toma. His secret was the art of undercover disguise, which gave him national recognition by the New York Daily News, when they labeled him, "The Greatest Cop Alive!" His uncompromising approach to fighting crime drew the attention of Hollywood, who soon offered him his own hit TV series, based on his life; BARETTA. Tom and I are both former Marines and share patriotism and love of country. I listened to every detail as he talked about his 50 years of relentlessly warning millions of teenagers and adults about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. Toma pulls no punches when speaking about how drugs and alcohol can destroy lives. David Toma has been a life-line to millions, who seek him out to this day, to thank him and to ask for his help again. He gives them hope for he believes that there is always a way out. He always refers to the four Chaplains and 50 years ago, the majority of people that he counseled understood; but as we moved into the 20th century, very few people knew the story. I may be presumptuous in assuming you don’t know the story and if you do, give yourself a star, and listen one more time. It was the middle of World War II and all Americans were filled with fear and patriotism with German submarines off the coast of New Jersey. Troops were needed in Europe and there were more men and women ready to fight for their country, but not enough ships to transport them. The Dorchester, a luxury liner, was converted to an Army Transport ship and on the evening of Feb 2nd 1943, (before this Marine was born), 902 servicemen and crew had departed the friendly waters near Newfoundland on route to an American Naval Base in Greenland. On Feb 3rd at 12:55am, a German Submarine fired 3 torpedoes into the Dorchester, where many of the men were sleeping undressed and without their life jackets, and were thrust into the cold Atlantic. Panic and chaos set in, many were killed and many more were wounded, as men jumped from the ship into lifeboats, over-crowding them to the point of capsizing. Through the pandemonium, according to those present, four Army chaplains brought hope in despair and light in darkness. Those chaplains were Lt. George L. Fox, Methodist; Lt. Alexander D. Goode, Jewish; Lt. John P. Washington, Roman Catholic; and Lt. Clark V. Poling, Dutch Reformed. Quickly and quietly, the four chaplains spread out among the soldiers. There they tried to calm the frightened, tend the wounded and guide the disoriented toward safety. Witnesses of that terrible night remember hearing the four men offer prayers for the dying and encouragement for those who would live. One witness, Private William Bednar, found himself floating in oil-smeared water, surrounded by dead bodies and debris. "I could hear men crying, pleading, praying, Bednar recalls. I could also hear the chaplains preaching courage as their voices were the only thing that kept me going. Another sailor, Petty Officer John Mahoney, tried to reenter his cabin but Rabbi Goode stopped him. Mahoney, concerned about the cold Arctic air, explained he had forgotten his gloves. "Never mind," Goode responded. "I have two pairs." The rabbi then gave the petty officer his own gloves. In retrospect, Mahoney realized that Rabbi Goode was not conveniently carrying two pairs of gloves, and that the rabbi had decided not to leave the Dorchester. By this time, most of the men were topside, and the chaplains opened a storage locker and began distributing life jackets. It was then that Engineer Grady Clark witnessed an astonishing sight. When there were no more lifejackets in the storage room, the chaplains removed theirs and gave them to four frightened young men. “It was the finest thing I have seen or hope to see this side of heaven," said John Ladd, another survivor who saw the chaplains' selfless act. The altruistic action of the four chaplains constitutes one of the purest spiritual and ethical acts a person can make. When giving their life jackets, Rabbi Goode did not call out for a Jew; Father Washington did not call out for a Catholic; nor did the Reverends Fox and Poling call out for a Protestant. They simply gave their life jackets to the next man in line. The four Chaplains remained on the ship’s deck standing together, arms linked, heads bowed in prayer, as the Dorchester slipped below the waves. Of the 902 men aboard the U.S.A.T. Dorchester, 672 died, leaving 230 survivors. When the news reached American shores, the nation was stunned by the magnitude of the tragedy and heroic conduct of the four chaplains. Make sure you remember the four Chaplains and tell other their story.

2011 Gooch’s Garlic Run July 2011

On Wednesday, June 16th, 2011, I went to my first Gooch’s Garlic Run and I was unsure of what to expect, especially after just returning from the Rolling Thunder Run in Washington DC. The Rolling Thunder run was amazing with the crowds of people cheering as we rode from the Pentagon to the Viet-Nam wall on Memorial Day weekend. Gooch’s Garlic Run is coordinated by the Blue Knights, a law enforcement motorcycle club, with lots of help from the Rockaway mall and the Hilton Garden Inn for the benefit of selected families with injured children. This Marine Corps Vet had tears in his eyes and pride in his heart to be part of such a great charitable event to help injured children. The Rolling Thunder Run was more of pride in our country but as emotional as working with missing in action and prisoners of war, there is just something about a helpless child that tears at my heart. The Run started at the Rockaway mall and after a little music; we were introduced to Ariana McGuire, an 8 year girl, who was struck by a metal arrow that pierced her brain. She had braces on her legs and bore the signs of a stroke but her enthusiasm and love for life was remarkable. I watched her in amazement as she was introduced with her family. The Garlic Run always went to New York City’s Little Italy but this year, the ironbound section of Newark was the destination, and what a great choice, great food, hospitality, and parking for 2000 motorcycles. I met a lot of great people but when the band brought Ariana on stage and she sang and danced and was so happy, it was hard to find a dry eye in the crowd. What a great event as I continued to see the generosity of our great country. This year’s Garlic Run, also benefited Julian Moreno, only 2 years old with Leukemia, Steven Yank, 16, confined to a wheel chair as a result of brain injuries suffered in a car accident, and Daniel Zawaski, 9, with a brain tumor. Although they could not all attend, Steven played the Tambourine and Arianna was the entertainer. The Blue Knights are amazing; Route 80 and 280 had an open lane for all the bikes from Rockaway to Newark without stopping even once. The run is named after a retired Andover Township police Lt, Al “Gooch” Monaco. Congratulations, Blue Knights NJ IX Chapter, it was great, and this new “old” biker will be there and I hope all of you are inspired to drop by the Rockaway Mall each year and donate just a little time and a little money to help these children and their families with their medical expenses as they take special care of their special children. It will make you feel special, too. by Gary Sullivan

OH SULLIVAN’s Marina and Restaurant

It is interesting that even after 10 years, most residentsof both Sussex and Morris County still refer to us as Smitty’s but you know what, that’s a good thing because Smitty’s had a great reputation. We are now the WoodPort Cove Business Park, home of Automated Wireless, Oh Sullivan’s Marina, The WoodPort House Restaurant, Chester’s Chicken and When Pigs Fly BBQ. I have travelled around the world and have found the best fried chicken in Alabama and the best BBQ in North Carolina, but the best Steaks, Pasta, and Seafood were right here at the WoodPort House. Our motto is “Where our customers become Friends”, and it’s true. A Satellite View of the Marina can be seen at http://www.ohsullivans.com/ and the menu, specials, and ntertainment can be seen at http://www.woodporthouse.com/.

Chester’s Chicken is the best fried chicken recipe and is available to eat in or take out with Potato Wedges, Baked Beans or Mac & Cheese. BBQ is not a verb and it is not a grill, it is method of cooking pork; we don’t BBQ that means grilling, we eat BBQ which is smoked pork butt. East North Carolina BBQ is dry vinegar based and West North Carolina is smokey tomato based and we have both. North Carolina BBQ and Chester’s Fried Chicken so whether you call us Smitty’s or the WoodPort House stop, buy and enjoy the food, the chicken, the BBQ and the music and don’t forget to listen to the BBQ song at http://www.woodporthouse.com/ BBQ is for the entire family but we always have Corn Dogs for the little guys. Every Wednesday night is BIKE and BOAT night with a special menu. Thanks Lake Hopatcong.

Having been a software developer since the 60s when Rock n Roll had lyrics and a Budget was a simple calculation of one year’s gallons X the estimated price and maybe a tweak for consideration of the farmer’s almanac; what happened?Example:1500 gallons (no insulation, single pane glass) X .29 = $435 divided by 10 rounded up to $50 month for Heating Oil, no problem, close enough, don’t even need a computer.Let’s move forward to 2008 and use the same example:1000 gallons (insulated, conservation, thermo pane glass, solar, etc) X $5.00 = $5000 divide by 10 to $500 month for Heating Oil, big problem and you need a computer with powerful software.Yes, $500 a month is not practical for this little house, so why not have the customer buy his heating oil at the beginning of the season based on future prices?No problem, if the price goes up and by the way, make sure you buy the oil contracts to back this up and then, and then, and then divide it by 10 and make payments.If the price goes down, your customer thinks you conned him and buys COD and you have a contract with $5.00 Heating Oil.Maybe a Price Cap will work, maybe charge a fee, but what if the price goes up.Maybe 11 months or 12 months is betterso the customer has a permanent payment and thinks he has another mortgage and don’t forget the old Farmer’s Almanac, a winter that is 10% colder than anticipated is now a lot of money.What about the economy?Does any of this sound familiar, it sure does to us at AWE as we assisted our customers by providing several scenarios to re-evaluate budget payments.Are you ready for the good news?Watch for the new E-System 2009 Advance Budgets.We work, we study, we learn, we innovate, and provide the benefits to our customers.We are not saying there is an easy answer, but we are saying that we have the tools for you.

A very astute businessman and owner of a very successful Petroleum Distribution Company (also an AWE customer, of course) recounted a recent event when purchasing oil.He said I was just notified by Exxon that I could no longer purchase any product for the rest of the month.Curious, I said “What?” and he finished the story.Apparently with Exxon, the large quarterly profits were a problem and the new President and Congress made it even worse.The only way to stop making profit is to stop selling oil but doesn’t that sound a bit extreme.Then, there is the economy and the automobile industry failing miserably and how about this for a rescue plan.Exxon could buy a GM, Ford, and Chrysler with just one quarters profit.What a deal, save the automobile industry, and be able to buy a Chevy, Ford, or Chrysler at your local Exxon gas station.Of course, this is not going to happen but it is amazing how we threaten a profitable company like Exxon with a windfall profits tax and at the same time provide billions of dollars to companies that fail.I think Exxon is on a better path than GM and can you imagine if the restrictions on drilling and shale oil research were removed? Just my opinion, Gary Sullivan.